About the Blog

Drosophila Models of Human Disease is aimed at providing information to the biological and biomedical research fields about the use of Drosophila melanogaster (commonly known as the "fruit fly" or "vinegar fly") to study human diseases and disease-related topics.

Do you want to ...

• Learn about existing and emerging fly models of disease? 
• Identify potential collaborators in the Drosophila community? 
• Understand how research focused on one tiny fly can help us understand the cellular mechanisms of human disease and develop new treatment approaches? 
• Gain an expert understanding of how the work of fly biologists might impact health strategies relevant to disease vectors like mosquitoes? 

If the answer is "yes" to any of the questions above, then Drosophila Models of Human Disease should be a good starting point for you.

The blog is freely accessible online. Comments or questions are welcome. Please note, however, that the blog is not meant as a venue for marketing promotion. In addition, mention of a specific research paper or finding should not be taken as an endorsement or verification of the validity of results.

Planned recurring features include posting of review articles, seminal articles from the past literature, and relevant breaking reports, as well as original text summaries and challenge questions from experts in particular disease-related fields.

We will also make an effort to highlight resources available for the identification and molecular genetic study of fly orthologs of disease-related genes.

The blog founder is the Director of the DRSC. She is most aware of resources related to the DRSC, including TRiP fly stocks. This is likely to bias the content of the blog. However, we will try not to let that get out of hand, and we encourage anyone with relevant resources to make us aware so we can use this forum broadcast information about any relevant resources to the community.

Please see About the Authors for more information on how to contribute and what we're looking for.

About the design. The design of the blog was inspired by two iconic images: the classic image of the Drosophila karyotype and the "star of life" image associated with the medical field (in particular, EMTs). The image is meant to evoke the rich historical foundation of Drosophila research; the critical need for new understandings and treatments for human diseases, as well as for new approaches to disease vector eradication and other blocks to disease transmission; and the hope to rush relevant discoveries from the fly field to more translational labs to accelerate progress. The image is an original design by S. Mohr. All rights reserved.